One Night of Trouble
by ApellaZant
Summary: Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers are getting married. But with a few weeks to go, Scott makes a big mistake that could put the whole thing on ice. How will he get out of this one, and what does it have to do with his best friend, Kim Pine?
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Any similarity to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A/N: Ahh... the thrill of a challenge. This story idea was presented to me by my personal favorite Scott Pilgrim fanfic writer, Voice4theMute. It's a bit of a departure from my usual writing style, but hey... gotta stretch my legs somehow, right? Of course, I'm nothing if not an efficient writer, so expect this story to play heavily in my next story, "Scott and Ramona's Precious Little Wedding" AND tie in to my already completed "Lily Pilgrim vs. Their World." And as always, feedback is greatly appreciated, though be gentle this time. I'm trying new stuff. :-)

**One Night of Trouble**

**Part 1**

The sun was already shining in the western window when Kim Pine **(Name: Kimberly Pine, Status: Needs to find something to cover that window)** woke up. It was her day off though, so alarm clocks be damned.

She sat up, much to the chagrin of Gideon the cat, who had been quite content using her as a human cat bed for the last few hours. He meowed sadly as he jumped down from her stomach to the floor and walked away. Kim glanced at him and then rubbed her eyes as she looked around the room. The set up was nice. She had her pallet on the floor **(Suggested by Scott, Paid for by Ramona)**, and a small "bedside" table **(Suggested by Scott, Paid for by Ramona)**. On the table was her trusty walkman and a full case of AA batteries **(Suggested by No one, Paid for by Kim... Necessity: THROUGH THE ROOF!)**.

Kim slowly got up and walked to a curtain that separated her "room" from the rest of the apartment **(Note: Did you seriously think Scott Pilgrim's apartment would have more than one bedroom? Silly silly people...)**. She peeked out cautiously. She had lived with other people before, but this was different. She had spent the last year living with one of her best friends, Scott Pilgrim **(Kim Pine Note: Funny how a few weeks can turn into a year that quickly...)**.

No one was out in the living room. Only Gideon, who had found another comfortable spot on the couch to replace his now vertical cat bed, looked back at her.

Kim smirked at the cat. "Well Gideon... looks like it's just us today."

She put two pieces of bread in the toaster, starting the timer. That was at least one good thing about living with Scott as opposed to the roommates she'd had before. Scott didn't steal her bread. Hell, as far as she could tell, he never ate anything beyond ramen noodles** (and the occasional loaf of garlic bread, but surprisingly, he usually bought his OWN bread for that)**. That, and whatever Ramona demanded he eat for his own nutrition. As Kim's toast finished, she pulled it out and put it on a plate **(Note: Plate is a Super Mario Bros commemorative plate... it was a gift from Scott's mom)**.

Kim sat on the couch with her toast as Gideon quickly took advantage of having his bed stationary again by jumping into her lap. As she crunched into the first piece of her toast, she absently scratched behind his ears.

"It's gonna be a good day, Giddie."

Ramona was the first one home, and by that time, Kim had gotten dressed and taken her place, her favorite place on her days off, with a book on the couch. She barely looked up as Ramona came through the door **(Name: Ramona V. Flowers, Energy: Bordering on 0%)**.

"Hey Rammy," she said as she continued reading.

Ramona leaned down and unsnapped her roller blades, taking them off and leaving them at the door. "Hey Kim. Enjoy your day off?" she asked as she plopped down in a chair across the room, looking exhausted.

"Yeah," she responded. Kim's eyes were immediately drawn to it, as they always were. The ring on Ramona's hand. The ring that she had actually helped Scott pick out **(Kim Pine Note: Quite unwillingly, by the way)**. She quickly averted her eyes back to her book. That phase of her life was over. It had to be... the wedding was in just a few weeks. "Hard day at work?" Kim asked, again looking at her book.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Ramona sighed. "And it's not like that's the only thing on my plate right now. Hey... are you gonna be available to go shopping tomorrow? We've got to finalize these dresses."

"I work tomorrow, but I'll be done by 4," Kim said as she put the book down. "I guess I can meet you at the store."

"Sounds great," Ramona said as she leaned back.

"Having second thoughts yet?" Kim asked before she could stop herself.

Ramona sat up and looked at Kim, confused. "No. Just wishing these things weren't such a pain to plan," she answered. "Planning a wedding AND doing deliveries every day is a bit grating. I guess it doesn't help that Scott isn't helping with this at all," she lamented after a moment.

"Eh… he's Scott Pilgrim. You couldn't possibly think he was suddenly NOT going to be a slacker for his wedding," Kim said, picking her book up again.

"Yeah… guess not," Ramona muttered as she got up and went into the bedroom.

Kim stayed on the couch, mainly to provide a place for Gideon to keep napping. As she opened her book and continued reading, she thought she heard Ramona sigh in the next room.

A few short hours later, Scott Pilgrim **(Age: 25, Status: Still awesome!)** finally arrived home from his shift at the Happy Avocado. Again, the sound of the door opening caused Kim to lower her book.

"Well look who it is," she said. "The blushing groom-to-be finally comes home."

"Hey Kim!" Scott said. He was never at a loss for spirit, she had to give him that. "Good day?"

"Of course. I live to be a mobile cat bed," she answered, gesturing to the cat that was STILL laying on her lap **(Gideon Fun Fact: Cats generally sleep more than they are awake)**.

Scott walked over and scratched Gideon behind the ears **(Gideon: No response)** before walking into the bedroom, presumably looking for Ramona. Kim glanced at her Walkman. It was ready to be used at a moment's notice. She wouldn't have to use it on this occasion though, as Scott and Ramona walked out into the living room.

"So Kim… what were you planning on doing tonight?" Scott asked.

"Exactly what I'm doing right now," Kim answered as she went back to her book **(Book Reading Note: Approximately 3 chapters to go)**.

"I thought you were going to go to that party for Julie," Ramona said.

Kim put the book down and frowned at Ramona. "Oh joy… a party for Julie," she monotoned. "How could I possibly miss that?" She went back to reading.

"Well… we're going to that new sushi place that opened downtown, so I guess we'll see you when we get back," Scott said, pulling Ramona toward the door **(Scott's stomach: Empty)**.

"You're welcome to come," Ramona offered.

"No thanks… I get enough of being the third wheel hanging out with Stephen and Joseph. No sense doing it with you two too," Kim answered. "Have fun kids."

Scott and Ramona walked out the door, leaving Kim to her book. For a moment, she DID entertain the idea of going to Julie's party. After all, they'd been friends… sort of. And this was one of the few times that Julie had come into town since moving to Montreal. It WOULD be nice to see her again… sort of. And it would take her mind off of what needed to be done the next day… namely, dress shopping, an activity she didn't quite look forward to for several reasons.

Gideon jumped up on Kim's lap and laid down yet again. She smiled down at him.

"Well… there goes THAT idea."

By the time Scott and Ramona got back a few hours later, they found Kim practicing on her drum set that was set up close to her "room." She kept pounding away on the snare, trying to get the beat that was in her head just right. Both Scott and Ramona waved a hello, but didn't stay to talk for very long, as they went into the bedroom in a bit of a hurry.

Kim stopped playing and reached over to get her Walkman. She'd tried drumming to drown them out before, but she found she just started drumming in time with them, and that was even more awkward. She put the headphones on and began blasting out the only CD she had managed to save from being packed away in storage: the Sex Bob-omb CD **(Kim Pine Note: Thing's certainly getting its mileage. Glad all that time wasn't wasted… oh wait…)**. The sounds of Stephen Stills belting out "Herself the Elf" filled Kim's hearing as she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. Blessed isolation.

Suddenly, the wall behind her head shuddered, snapping her out of her trance. She looked out into the living room and saw Ramona walk out of the bedroom, yelling and gesturing wildly with her hands. In just a moment, Scott joined her, apparently pleading. Kim felt wrong looking in on this kind of conversation, even though she couldn't hear anything over Stephen's distorted vocals. Ramona finally threw up her hands and left, slamming the front door behind her. Scott stood there for a long moment before trudging to the couch and slumping down on it.

_Crap, _Kim thought as she turned the volume down on her headphones. The room was incredibly silent to have hosted such an argument seconds before.

"Scott?" she probed. Scott didn't respond. Kim slowly pulled her headphones off. It made her uncomfortable to see Scott like this, dejected. He was usually so unshakeable. It reminded her of when Ramona had left before his fight with Gideon **(The guy... not the cat)**, a time that no one wanted to remember all that much.

She slowly walked into the room, still waiting for some kind of response from Scott. Gideon seemed to sense something was wrong as well, as he jumped up on the couch next to Scott and rubbed his forehead on Scott's hand.

"Scott Pilgrim? Are you going to answer me, or sit there like a loser?" Kim pressed further.

Scott finally looked up at Kim, and she saw that same look. The look of lost sadness, of abandonment, that he'd had when he'd shown up at her door all those months ago. It broke her heart to see him look that hurt. More so than she'd like to admit.

"She said if I didn't start taking things more seriously... maybe we shouldn't have a wedding," he said solemnly.

"Well... maybe you should," Kim replied, sitting down next to him. "I mean... you're getting married Scott. Kind of a big thing."

"I was taking it seriously. I still am," Scott lamented as he looked down at the floor.

Kim looked at Scott long and hard. She knew that Ramona just needed time to cool down and she'd come around. But she also knew that leaving Scott in this type of condition wouldn't be good. She and Stephen had worried enough before. She wasn't going to let him dig himself into that hole again.

"Alright Scott... I'm going to Julie's party, and you're coming with me," she said matter-of-factly as she stood up.

Scott looked at her with an air of confusion. "I'm not going to the party."

"I didn't ASK if you were going... you're going," Kim said, pulling him to his feet by his shirt. "I'm not going to have you mope around for the next few hours, even if I have to drag you to that party myself."

"But what about Ramona?" Scott pleaded.

"Ramona will be fine," Kim said. She hoped she was right. "She just needs time to cool off... the time before a wedding can be stressful, and she just needs to get away from it. YOU could probably stand some distance too."

"And you think going to a party for Julie will help?"

Kim sighed. It DID sound pretty dumb, when Scott said it out loud, but it was all she could think of at the moment. "Well it damn sure can't hurt, now can it?"

The party was jam packed full of people. Kim wondered for a moment how on earth so many people could know Julie Powers. Then, she wondered how on earth so many people could LIKE Julie Powers. It boggled her mind.

She stumbled through the throng, still dragging a morose Scott Pilgrim behind her **(Scott Pilgrim Note: Also wondering how this many people could like Julie)**. After finally finding some empty couch space, she threw Scott onto it.

"Alright... you're here, so let's stop being pitiful and have some fun," Kim said with a bit of an edge to her voice. Already she was regretting this decision, and she could think of only one thing that would make it worse...

"Hey Pilgrim! You look like you just got your **XXX** dumped!" said a voice from nearby.

Scott and Kim both looked toward the voice to find its owner, Julie Powers **(Name: Julie Powers, Status: Has major issues... and she's a XXXXX... Kim added that last part just now)**. She walked over and placed a hand on her hip.

"Glad you could make it to my party anyway," she continued. "I was wondering if you'd show up, what with wedding planning going and all."

"Wedding planning?" Scott was almost in a trance.

"Yeah... planning's going great. Me and Ramona are going tomorrow to finalize the bridesmaids dresses," Kim interjected. She didn't see a reason to let Julie in on the pre-marital spat.

"Well as long as my invitation doesn't get lost in the mail," Julie pouted. Then she walked away, obviously thinking more important party guests required her attention.

"I'm sure you'll be there in some way... you manage to bust into everything else we do," Kim muttered under her breath.

Scott suddenly stood up and walked off. The motion caught Kim by surprise, so much that by the time she reacted and followed, Scott had already gotten to the bar and grabbed a bottle of tequila. He was taking a swig before Kim snatched the bottle out of his hands.

"OOOOOH NO... We're not going down THAT road again," Kim said as she put the bottle back on the shelf. "I brought you here to keep you from moping around the house, not drown your troubles in tequila."

"But what if there's no wedding?" Scott said with a frown. "I can't be happy with anyone but Ramona."

The comment stung Kim a little more than she wanted it to, but she remained steadfast. "No drinking tonight, Scott. If something happened to you, I couldn't face Rammy again."

"Hey... isn't that that guy with the car?" Scott pointed over her shoulder.

Kim looked over her shoulder and saw her ex-boyfriend **(Name: Jason Kim, Status: Who the hell cares?)** and her co-worker **(Name: Hollie Hawkes, Status: Should she really be out partying the night before work? Wait... that's what I'm doing too... crap...)**. They were laughing together, Jason's arm around Hollie.

"What was his name? Jason..." Scott ventured.

"Jason Kim. His name was Jason Kim," Kim said, her eyes glassing over.

"Jason KIM?" Scott almost yelled.

"Yeah. Ha ha," Kim said as she took the bottle of tequila and drank from it. It wasn't bad enough she was trying to baby sit one reminder of a failed relationship... now she had two of them in the same room. Scott took the bottle as Kim set it down and took a swig himself.

An hour **(and almost 3/4 of a bottle of tequila)** later, Hollie actually walked over and sat down next to Kim, who had lost track of Scott in the party and was now just sitting on the couch, the bottle of tequila still in her hand.

"Hey Kim... work tomorrow?" Hollie asked.

Kim glared at her for a moment. With the feeling she now had in her head, she was almost sure there was a hangover waiting at the end of this night. Still, she couldn't give Hollie the satisfaction of having driven her to this. "Yeah. Bright and early."

"So... you're here with Scott Pilgrim?" Hollie asked with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah. What about it?" Kim was getting more annoyed with this line of thought than she really cared to admit.

"Nothing. I just thought he was engaged to Ramona Flowers, but I don't see her anywhere," Hollie said innocently.

"It's my personal bachelor party for him," Kim replied sarcastically.

Hollie laughed. "Like I always said Kim... you're a hell child." With that, she got up and walked off.

Kim shook her head, which felt sloshy after so much tequila. What did it matter to anyone if she was there with Scott? They were friends, right? That's all they were. That's all they'd really ever been, except for a blessed year at St. Joel's. But she could let it go. She was going to, because she knew what Scott Pilgrim had with Ramona Flowers was special. More special than anything she, Kim Pine, was capable of finding.

Somewhere in the middle of her ruminations, Scott sat down next to her **(Name: Scott... umm... Pilgrim. Status... drunk? Don't ask me so many questions!)**. He took another swig of the tequila Kim was holding onto **(there goes that last 1/4)** and dropped the bottle on the floor.

"Kim... you're my best friend," Scott started.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Yeah Scott... you're my best friend too."

"Y'know... without you... me and Rammy wouldn't be together... so thank you Kim," Scott slurred.

"What? I had nothing to do with it Scott," Kim said. "You were the one who fought all of those jerks to be with her!"

"But you were my support," Scott insisted. "You... were my friend, no matter what."

"That's what friends do," Kim answered.

"But I was a jerk to you," Scott frowned. "I just left you back in high school."

The memories, even in a drunken haze, were enough to bring Kim back to the present. And with a lot of pain. Sitting on the swings in Hillcrest Park, wondering what she'd done wrong. The nights she'd cried herself to sleep, wishing he was still there. And even more recently, the meetings with Stephen over ice cream to try and reconcile herself to the fact that he'd found his true love in Ramona.

"I'm sorry Kim," Scott said with a sudden clarity.

"You already apologized Scott," Kim said. "There's no reason to keep doing it. I forgave you. We've moved on. You're getting married." The last words burned her, but she buried that pain. No one needed to know about that.

Scott leaned in closer to her, swaying a little from the alcohol. "You've always been there for me..."

Kim knew where this was going. She'd heard this apology before, from a much more sober Scott Pilgrim up in the wilderness of Canada. She knew she had to get out before something happened. She stood up quickly and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Scott asked.

"I need some air," she spat out, trying to catch her breath. She walked out onto the balcony and leaned over the side, feeling the cool Toronto night air on her face. She had to hope it would stop the burning under her skin.

She heard the door behind her.

"Scott... no... don't do this..." she said as she turned around.

Scott was instantly right in her face. He didn't hesitate a moment, grabbing her and kissing her on the balcony. She tried to think rationally... remember what she had needed to do to break away from him before, when they'd kissed in the woods behind her house. She told her hands to push him away, but this time, they only entwined in his hair and pulled him closer. She desperately tried to command her legs to run away, but one simply snaked around his leg and pulled him even closer. It seemed as if her whole body was rebelling against her, until finally, she was lost in the ever brightening lights in her eyes.

Kim Pine woke with a start. She sat bolt upright on her pallet, nearly throwing a sleeping Gideon off of her **(Gideon: One very unhappy kitty)**. She glanced toward the clock. It was 7:30 AM. She'd somehow managed to wake up 30 minutes before her alarm. She closed her eyes. That dream had felt so real. So real in fact that it had taken up her memories. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten in bed the night before. She could only remember the dream, of Scott Pilgrim holding her and kissing her like he had before, and in some ways like he had not before.

"Well... THAT'S gonna make dress shopping with his fiancee' a little more awkward," she muttered to herself as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

A groan from the other side of the pallet snapped her wide awake. She shook her head. It was only a dream. It HAD to have been a dream...

She looked over to the other side of her small pallet. There, halfway under the blanket, was Scott Pilgrim.

"**XXXX!"** she cursed.

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	2. Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Any similarity to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A/N: More of the continuing story of Kim and Scott's night of confusion. Feedback is appreciated, and remember… I'm a guy, so writing about what a bridesmaid dress looks like is a little difficult for me to pull off with certainty.

One Night of Trouble

Part 2

Kim Pine **(Age: Who the hell cares at this point? Status: No no no no no…)** sat up on her pallet, her mind racing. What had happened last night? She couldn't remember, and any time she tried to concentrate, her head swam.

Tequila…

She was hung over. They'd had so much tequila last night she couldn't remember what had happened. She glanced under the covers and immediately pulled them back down again. Yep… it really WAS that bad.

"Scott?" she probed, still hoping this was all a bad dream. Scott rolled over and draped an arm across her, which she immediately treated like a poisonous snake, scrambling to get out from under it. The jostling woke him up.

"Rammy?" he said sleepily **(Kim Pine Note: Ouch. I mean… this is not a good situation on any level, but that hurt…)**.

"Not quite, idiot," Kim said.

Scott's eyes snapped open. "Kim?"

"I'm glad it didn't take you three guesses," she replied, trying to keep her voice as calm and level as she could.

"Wha… what happened?" Scott stammered **(Scott Pilgrim Status: *static*)**.

"Tequila happened. We're gonna have to remember that you can't handle that stuff," Kim said. "But FIRST… you've got to get out of here!"

Kim got up and began trying to pull Scott to his feet, but he made no move to help. He seemed paralyzed by the revelation of what had just happened.

"C'mon Scott... you've got to go!" Kim grunted as she continued to pull on him. The exertion was bringing her headache to the forefront, and it pounded in her head, taunting her with what she'd just done.

"But… shouldn't we… talk about this?" Scott forced out between tugs.

Kim dropped Scott's arm. "Talk about this? You ignore my feelings for years, and now, after we've gotten into this much trouble, you want to talk about this?"

"But… I think I should tell Ramona…" Scott started.

"Don't you dare, Scott Pilgrim!" Kim shouted. The idea of Ramona knowing that she'd had anything to do with this sliced her to the bone.

"But we've got that whole honesty thing…"

"That honesty thing is for little stuff. You got drunk and kissed Lisa… you offered casual sex to Knives and Envy… THAT kind of stuff!" Kim continued her tirade, beginning to pace around the room. "NOT… you slept with your roommate, who was SUPPOSED to be the most trusted girl in your fiancee's life… her MAID OF **XXXXX **HONOR… all because you had a little fight and got a little drunk! Now GET OUT OF MY BED!"

Kim kicked Scott hard out of the pallet. He stood up, but wasn't moving fast enough for Kim's tastes, as she began pushing him towards the bedroom.

"You can't be here right now Scott... you've got to go NOW!" she yelled, shoving Scott out of the room. As soon as he was in the bedroom, she slammed the door and sat down on the floor in front of it. Scott tried to talk to her through the door.

"Kim…"

"No Scott," she cut him off. "I have to get ready for work, and then I'm going dress shopping with Ramona. I don't want to talk about this… I don't even want to think about it, so just STAY IN THERE!"

Kim looked up at the ceiling, tears forming in her eyes. This was NOT going to be a good day.

The walk to work was horrible. Kim walked down the street, trying desperately to remember the night before. They couldn't have done what she thought they did. There was no way. Even as drunk as they'd been, someone would have had a clear head for a SECOND! Even Scott couldn't have been that dumb.

There it was again, Kim thought. Ever since waking up in the pallet next to Scott, she'd been trying to blame him for it. Somehow it was HIS stupidity. It had to be. She was past that part of her life… had been for months. But the more she thought about it… the more she knew that some of it had been her fault. She'd been the one to take Scott to Julie's party. And when the kiss had come, rather than breaking it off like she had before **(Kim Pine Note: And then, it'd been REALLY hard)**, she embraced it. What kind of person was she?

"Hey Kim!" came the excited voice of Ramona Flowers **(Name: Ramona Flowers, Status: On the Clock)**.

Kim jumped almost a foot off the ground. If there was one person she hadn't wanted to see this morning, after everything that had just happened, it was Ramona. "Hey… Rammy. What are you doing here?" she asked, inwardly cringing with every word.

"You wouldn't believe this, but I actually have a delivery for you," Ramona answered, holding out a package.

_A good slap to the face? That would be what I deserve. Your fianc__é__ too._

Kim looked at the package in Ramona's hand. It was, in fact, addressed to No Account Video.

"That's weird. We don't usually get our stuff from Amazon," Kim said as she looked at the package. Again, her eyes were drawn from the package to the ring on Ramona's left hand. "It usually comes from a supplier."

"Oh that's mine!" shouted Hollie Hawkes **(Status: Looking very chipper to have been out drinking last night)**. "Sorry… I had to use this address for it. Sarah's real bad about not telling me when mail comes."

Kim sighed. Speaking of people she didn't want to see this morning…

"So how was the party?" Hollie asked. Kim's head jerked up. "I was expecting you to be pretty hung over today, but you look fine."

Kim looked nervously from Hollie to Ramona, who was smiling.

"So you DID go to Julie's party last night… I was worried you were just gonna sit reading that book all night," Ramona said.

"Nope," Hollie jumped in. "She was partying with the best of us."

_And, apparently, sleeping with your fianc__é__._ Kim forced a smile.

"Well… you'll have to tell me all about it this afternoon," Ramona said, looking at her watch. "But right now, I need you to sign for this and then I've gotta go."

"I'll take care of this," Hollie said as she took the pad from Ramona and signed her name. After a brief goodbye, Ramona skated off, leaving Hollie and Kim standing in front of the video store.

"So… did anything else happen last night?" Hollie asked innocently.

"Up yours," was Kim's reply as she walked into the store.

The rest of the day dragged for Kim. With Hollie smiling coyly at her every time she passed **(Kim Pine Note: Seriously… I liked it better when she felt guilty around me)**, and no customers to take her mind off of anything, she stood at the counter, replaying the events of the night before. The drinking… the talking… the kiss. And then still… nothing. She was becoming glad for that though. The guilt was already enough to crush her without moving pictures of what had happened.

"So when are you going to break it to her?" Hollie asked.

Kim froze. How the hell did Hollie know anything?

"Break what to who?" Kim asked, trying to sound indignant **(Kim Pine Note: I usually don't have to try this hard…)**.

"When are you going to tell Ramona that you still love Scott?" Hollie answered.

Kim almost sighed in relief. So Hollie didn't know. "Who said I still love Scott?"

"I've been your esteemed colleague for years. I think I know how to read you, unlike the rest of the world," Hollie said with an air of scholarship.

"I don't still have feelings for Scott Pilgrim," Kim lied. "That part of my life is over. He's with Ramona now, and I'm going to stand right there and smile when they have their storybook wedding."

"You're a better person than I am then, Kim," Hollie said sarcastically.

"I know I am," Kim shot back. "So are you gonna live with them after they get married?" Hollie asked.

"No!" Kim stated emphatically. "I'm just waiting to look for a place."

"Oh… well when you decide to look, I know some people," Hollie said. "You know… they're building houses just a few streets away. Now that you're manager, you could probably afford it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Kim said shortly, indicating she didn't want to talk to Hollie anymore.

At 4 o'clock, Kim said goodbye to Hollie and walked out of No Account Video. It was a short walk to the dress shop **(Toronto Dresses: Family Owned and Serving in 3 convenient locations in Toronto! Come to us for your bridal and formal dress needs!)**, and Kim arrived just as Ramona skated in from the other side.

"Wow… right on time. I usually have to wait for Scott," Ramona smiled.

"Yeah…" Kim droned. She really didn't want to talk about Scott… at all.

The two walked into the dress shop where an attendant was almost immediately with them. "Welcome ladies! How may I help you today?" she chimed **(Name: Unknown, Occupation: Dress Shop Attendant, Excitement Level: WAAAY too high to be doing this)**.

"We're here to finalize the dresses for the Pilgrim-Flowers wedding," Ramona said.

Kim looked around the shop. Even as jaded as everyone thought she was, she couldn't help but feel something looking at row after row of wedding dress. There'd been a time when she thought something like this could happen for her, but it just hadn't worked out yet. Her thoughts faded back to Scott, and she quickly shook her head, trying to physically shake the memories from her head.

"So who will be trying the dresses on?" the attendant asked.

Kim stopped looking around and glanced at Ramona, who was smiling at her. "Wait… no… you didn't say anything about trying ON the dresses," she stuttered.

"C'mon Kim. I have to be able to see the dress on someone, to see how the color looks. And since Lisa is flying in too late, and Stacey's at work… I need you," Ramona pleaded.

Kim sighed. She knew there wouldn't be any winning this battle, so it was pointless to even start. With Ramona giggling just a little **(Kim Pine Note: She's having WAY too much fun with this)**, Kim allowed herself to be led away by the attendant.

A short time and a whirlwind of fabric later **(Kim Pine Note: Seriously… it's like she had some strange power or something… got me into a dress without any cooperation needed…)**, Kim walked out of the dressing room and into the store. The dress she wore was simple, a scoop necked baby blue satin sheath with a sash under the bust that tied in the back. Ramona mocked applause as Kim walked out in front of her.

"Don't push it, Flowers," Kim said.

"I love it," Ramona said to the attendant as Kim turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She DID look pretty nice. Not as nice as Lisa would look, and definitely not as nice as Ramona would, but still... nice.

"So you'll be needing three of these dresses before the 17th?" the attendant asked.

"Yes," Ramona answered. "We'll have Stacey in for alterations in a few days. Lisa… will need to be just a few days before the wedding. But I was wondering if you could go ahead and take care of Kim's right now."

"Yay... more time in the dress," Kim said sarcastically.

The attendant nodded and began to work on measuring Kim, simply moving her where she needed without question.

"So… how was the party last night?" Ramona asked, lounging on the chair.

Kim swallowed hard. "Oh, it was the same old thing. A Julie party is a Julie party, right?"

"I guess so," Ramona nodded in agreement. After a long pause, she spoke again. "Did Scott say anything after I left?"

Kim's mind raced. Should she tell Ramona that she'd taken Scott to Julie's party? She knew she couldn't tell her about the events that had happened after that, but maybe it would make her feel a little less guilty if she at least told SOMETHING that was the truth.

"No. He seemed kind of quiet," she answered. "Did you guys have a fight?"

"Yeah. It all seems kind of silly now. He was just telling me he wanted a Zelda cake topper and I just kind of lost it," Ramona said with a frown. "It felt like this is all one big joke to him."

"He's Scott Pilgrim," Kim replied. "It's his nature."

"I hope he was okay after I left," Ramona said. "I didn't mean to storm out like that… I just knew if I stayed, I might have said something else I was going to regret."

"He was alright. I took him with me to Julie's party," Kim blurted out.

Ramona looked up at Kim for a moment, and Kim braced herself for the tirade that was surely coming. After a moment though, Ramona smiled.

"I'm glad you did. That's probably exactly what he needed," she said. "I swear Kim… if it was possible for you to be both my maid of honor and his best man… I'm sure we'd have you do it."

_That's me… friend of the freakin' year._ Kim smiled weakly. "But then I wouldn't be able to wear this _beautiful _dress," she said.

"Wow Kim... I had no idea you were so keen on wearing that dress," Ramona teased.

"Shut up," Kim responded.

Kim and Ramona walked down the sidewalk, Ramona with her roller blades in hand. She always did that out of consideration for Kim, who couldn't really travel through subspace without throwing up **(Kim Pine Note: Seriously… I didn't even know it existed until a few years ago…)**.

"So you don't think he's too torn up?" Ramona asked.

Kim had been trying to avoid the subject of Scott since their earlier conversation, but seemed to be failing. An idea had been forming in her head for the last few minutes, but she needed to not be thinking about Scott when she revealed it, or it might betray her. "He was upset, but nothing that's gonna make him change his mind or anything."

"I'm glad you're here for us Kim," Ramona said. Again, Kim felt a stab of guilt. "Sometimes I wonder if you're the only one that can really get through to him."

"I can't get through to him," Kim retorted, trying to get off that subject. "I'm just cursed with being able to understand the mystery of Scott Pilgrim."

"Well… I'm going to head off here," Ramona gestured to a side street. "Figured I'd pick up dinner and head over to Scott's. See you there in a few?"

"Yeah," Kim said absently.

The two walked their separate ways, and once Kim was sure she was out of sight, she broke into a run. Feelings came rushing back to her, and this time, she didn't try to stop them. She had thought she was past her feelings for Scott Pilgrim. She had even considered it her proudest achievement to have gotten over him, at long last. She bounded up the stairs to the apartment and stopped at the door. After taking a deep breath, she turned her key in the lock and opened the door.

Scott was sitting on the couch **(Kim Pine Note: Wonder if he had to go to work today... hope not)**. As soon as he saw Kim, he sprung to his feet. "Kim... I..."

"Stop right there, Scott. I didn't wanna talk about it this morning, and I'm sure as hell not going to talk about it right now," Kim said as she closed the door.

Scott just stood in the living room, confused. Kim took that as an invitation to continue.

"It was dumb, it was stupid, and it was a mistake. And you're not gonna tell Rammy, any more than I am," Kim said. She steeled herself for her next statement. "And because I obviously can't be trusted to be around you..."

Kim was cut off by the sound of another key in the lock. In just a moment, Ramona came through the door with bags of food **(Sneaky Dee's Curbside Service: How Tex-Mex was MEANT to be enjoyed!)** "Hey everyone! Hope you're up for Mexican," she said as she walked in the apartment. Then, she noticed everyone was silent in the room. "Everything okay?"**(Awkwardness Quotient in Room: Sky High)**

"Everything's fine," said Kim as she lowered her eyes. "I was just telling Scott that I'm moving out this week."

"I didn't even realize you were looking," said Ramona as the three sat in the living room floor, a towel placed under their food, picnic style. "If we're making you feel like a third wheel, we can stop. That's no reason to move out. I mean... have you even found a new place yet?"

_Good enough reason for me. _Kim took a bite out of her burrito **(Not Fun Fact: Idiots STILL forgot to put sour cream on this...)**. "Hollie told me about some houses that are being finished a few streets over," she said. "After all, you two are gonna have kids right? I've gotta have a place before they come asking good old Aunt Kim to tell them embarrassing stories about their father."

Ramona blushed slightly at the mention of children, but Scott just kept eating his nachos **(Scott Pilgrim: In Eating Mode)**. "Well, we aren't going to immediately," stammered Ramona, "but if you really want to move out, we can help you. Don't you want to wait until next week though... just make sure you have somewhere to go?"

Kim looked at Scott, who was still very interested in his nachos. "No... I don't think it can wait," she said.

A few days later, Kim Pine **(Status: Finally out of Scott Pilgrim's apartment)** stood in front of her very first house. It had been remarkably hard to attain on such short notice, but luckily, Hollie hadn't just known about the houses, but was actually connected to the owners and very eager to try and ingratiate herself to Kim **(Kim Pine Note: She still owes me though…)**.

"I've gotta tell you Kim… this is freakin me out a little bit," Scott Pilgrim said as he walked by with a box of stuff.

"We've already done this Scott… so you know how it ends," Kim answered. "Just get the stuff in there."

"Hey… mind if I help?" Kim turned to find Jason Kim **(Role: Ex-boyfriend, Status: Not worth the air he takes up)** walking up the sidewalk.

"Sorry… Stephen and Scott have got my moving pretty much taken care of," Kim said, gesturing to Stephen as he walked out of the house **(Name: Stephen Stills, Status: Feels like he's missed out on some important stuff…)**.

Jason walked up to Kim. "Kim… what is it gonna take for you to let that go?"

"A lot more than helping me move again," Kim answered, acid in her voice.

"How about I do your lawn work for the rest of my life?" Jason offered.

Kim paused and looked at the lawn. It WAS the first time she'd had anything resembling a front yard. And she abhorred the idea of operating a lawn mower. "That MIGHT cover it," she said. "But you use the best lawn mower you can find. Get to work."

Jason saluted her and walked back to his car, presumably to go find a lawn mower. Ramona walked up next to Kim and put an arm around her.

"Hey… isn't that that guy you dated?" she asked.

"Nope. He's just my lawn guy," Kim smiled.

"Hey... I was wondering if you could go pick up Lisa from the airport for the wedding," Ramona started.

"Of course. What else is a Maid of Honor for?" Kim said.

"Apparently resolving conflicts between the bride and groom," Ramona answered with a smile.

"Yeah. Just promise me one thing,"

"What?" Ramona asked.

"Keep him away from tequila," Kim said dryly.

With that, Kim walked up the sidewalk to the front door of her new home.

**THE END**

A/N Part 2: Alright... I know this isn't a REAL ending, but it's not supposed to be. Consider this a... prequel offshoot of what I'm about to write, "Scott and Ramona's Precious Little Wedding." It's going to fit in there, and we'll see the final resolution of this towards the end of THAT story. :-) So... hope you'll read that one too. See ya then!


End file.
